The Stag, the Dog and the Sheep
"The Stag, the Dog and the Sheep" is the 1025th episode of Casualty and the 21st episode of the 31st series. It was preceded by "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and followed by "You Are Your Only Limit". The episode was directed by Seán Gleeson and written by Jeff Povey. This episode features a guest appearance from Ian Bleasdale as Josh Griffiths. The events of the episode primarily take place on 3 February, with flashbacks and events from the night before taking place on 2 February. Synopsis After leaving for the stag night, the group head out in the minibus to Barry. On the way there, they stop in a field and drunkenly decide to steal one of the sheep and take it with them on the bus after it bites Noel. Cal pushes Ethan over, breaking his glasses. Although he claims it to be an accident, it's Cal's secret revenge for sleeping with Alicia. They arrive in Barry some time later and meet with Josh who has returned for the occasion. The following morning, they awaken in a B&B in Barry. They're surprised to find the sheep is in the room and that Charlie is nowhere to be seen. Cal is also confused, as he has a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist, with no recollection of how it got there. Meanwhile, two men, Terry and Lionel, are preparing to perform an old trick they once did together; human cannon firing. Terry gets in the cannon as Lionel lights the fuse, but a malfunction results in Lionel receiving a head laceration and Terry severely injuring his arm when he lands on the ground. They're both admitted to the ED and receive treatment for their injuries. Back in Barry, a woman named Candy is threatened by her pimp, Sarvas, about the whereabouts of the briefcase, which is handcuffed to Cal's wrist. She eventually reveals that she locked it to a man she met at a strip club, and Sarvas heads for the B&B where she tells him they were staying. Meanwhile, Noel, Cal, Ethan and Max are worried about Charlie's whereabouts and realise that they've got his phone. Dylan and Josh head to the local police station but are disappointed when they're told that he's not been there. In the ED, Jacob finds Elle in her office behind her desk. It transpires that a second complaint has been made against her, by the man she'd discharged earlier in the month. She immediately suspects that Connie put him up to it. With some encouraging words from Jacob, Elle jumps back into work, intent on proving herself to the team. Whilst Sarvas has arrived at the B&B, Cal and Ethan try to retrace their steps around the area. Ethan is horrified when he finds a tattoo on his leg saying "Be More Cal". They head over to the tattoo parlour, at which point Ethan is able to unlock the briefcase. Inside, he find that it's filled with money. He shows Cal who's now even more puzzled about where it came from. One of the tattoo artists, Jade, tells them that when they'd been in there the night before they'd come from the pole dancing club. Back in the ED, Elle takes over from Connie in Terry's treatment. He suffers a seizure and she informs Lionel that he'll be out of action for a while, but they'll know more after a CT scan. Elle is also alarmed about Terry's bad cough which seems to be getting worse. When the results come back, it transpires that Terry has lung cancer which has spread to his brain. Lionel is alarmed at the thought that they won't be performing any more stunts together. Meanwhile Louise calls Noel asking where Charlie is, and she's furious when they tell her that he's gone missing. Lily attempts to make amends with Iain but he makes it clear he has no intention of doing so. At the tattoo parlour, Sarvas arrives and threatens Jade on the whereabouts of the men on the stag party. She tells them that they came in, one of them with a briefcase. He deduces that they must be looking for the key. By which point, Cal and Ethan have arrived at the pole dancing club they were at the night before. Flashbacks show their night at the club, where Candy is working as a pole dancer. After a chat with Charlie about his wedding, she takes a shine to Cal. She handcuffs a briefcase to his wrist and tells him to meet her in the B&B the next day. Back in the present, Cal and Ethan leave the club in search of Charlie, suspecting that he may be with Candy. They have an address for her, but are shocked to find her tied to a chair on the floor from where Sarvas had threatened her earlier. She tells them that they have to leave as Sarvas is looking for them. They also find that she has a piece of wood embedded in her arm, but in a rush to leave she pulls it out. Whilst they're stemming the bleed, Sarvas arrived and goes to hurt Cal in order to get the briefcase from him. Ethan manages to intervene, and Josh and Dylan arrive shortly after and the police arrive to apprehend Sarvas. As the police are questioning them, one of the officers recognises Dylan's name. Meanwhile, Terry attempts to leave the hospital with Lionel, refusing to accept his illness will hold him back. However, he starts having a coughing fit and collapses outside which leads to him being readmitted. Robyn attempts to cheer up Duffy, who has been trying to contact Charlie but hasn't got an answer. Duffy assumes that he doesn't want to marry her anymore, and doesn't care enough about the wedding. To cheer her up, the women hold a hen party for Duffy in the staff room, but David inadvertently lets slip that Charlie is missing. Duffy tells them that it's probably not that he's missing, but that he doesn't want to be found. Dylan and Josh are taken to the police station, where it turns out Charlie was arrested the night before for resisting arrest. Charlie had given the police Dylan's name as a contact, hence why the officer recognised his name. Charlie realises that he also got a tattoo, but is annoyed that he got one that says "Candy" and not "Duffy". He's later released from police custody, and they all board the minibus to go back to Holby, taking Candy with them. Meanwhile, Elle's quick thinking results in Terry's life being saved, whilst Connie watched on, waiting for her to slip up so she had more ammunition at the tribunal. Lionel goes back to the cannon and performs the stunt himself. He records it on video and plays it to a recovering Terry. Duffy realises she's missed a call from Charlie which increases her hopes of the wedding going ahead. Dylan speedily drives the minibus back to Holby, and on the journey Cal and Ethan make up, as Cal thanks Ethan for stepping in when he was in trouble earlier. Duffy waits anxiously in the hospital chapel with the guests and Lexy Morrell who is performing the service. Noel, Ethan, Cal, Max and Dylan arrive arrive, but Duffy is still worried that Charlie isn't going to follow. However, she's relieved when he comes through the door with Josh. As everyone is there and ready, Charlie and Duffy decide to go ahead with the ceremony and get married. The wedding reception takes place at The Hope & Anchor, where Lily informs Iain that she's been able to organise a visiting order for him to go and see Gemma. Alicia goes to see Ethan, joking about his tattoo. Cal oversees this, and kisses Candy to get back at Alicia for being unfaithful. However, Alicia and Ethan are both unaware that he knows about them sleeping together. Alicia confronts him and tells him not to go near her again. Elle wins the jackpot on a slot machine and her spirits are lifted. She goes outside and notices Connie coming over to the reception. Following Jacob's advice from earlier, she tells Connie that she won't go down without a fight. Connie spitefully tells Elle that she can enjoy the party all she wants, but that doctors like her cost patients their lives and after the tribunal she'll be finished. Ethan questions Cal on why he kissed Candy in front of Alicia. Cal tells him that sometimes you just can't help yourself. Despite this, Ethan tells him that nothing he could do could ever get in the way of him being his brother, as they reconcile with Ethan still unaware that Cal knows the truth. After the reception, Charlie and Duffy drive off together whilst the rest of the staff congratulate them and wave them off. Production The episode was filmed in around early October 2016. Following the positive fan reaction of Ian Bleasdale's guest return as Josh Griffiths in the series premiere, he returned once again for Charlie and Duffy's wedding episode. Additionally, Jenny Howe reprised her role as Lexy Morrell for the episode. Howe initially appeared in a recurring capacity on Holby City and made her first appearance on Casualty in October 2016 in episode eight of series 31. Promotion First scenes from the episode previewed in the Winter 2016/17 trailer, released in December 2016. The previews from the wedding scenes resulted in instant reaction from fans on social media. In an interview with Inside Soap, Cathy Shipton revealed that she had initial concerns about Charlie and Duffy's relationship. Speaking of the pairing, Shipton said "When something is unrequited, then you sort of keep it on the back-burner - it's that whole, 'will-they-won't-they?' thing." However, she revealed that she thought it had "got to the point where it just feels right", and that the audience don't get the impression that they're going to be getting divorced in three episodes' time. Promotional stills The following promotional stills were released four days before the episode aired. 31x21 1.jpg|Duffy in the chapel. 31x21 2.jpg|Duffy waits for Charlie stood in the chapel with Lexy. 31x21 3.jpg|Duffy in the chapel, whilst Maid of Honour Robyn worries if Charlie will show up. 31x21 4.jpg|Guests at the wedding; back row: Elle, Jacob and David; front row: Lily and Connie. 31x21 5.jpg|Josh at the wedding.